Christmas time was sadly never a happy time for the Bunkers nor the Stivics, as no matter how much they plan, bad luck just keeps showing up at the worst, possible times. Christmas '72: Archie didn't get his bonus over a simple mistake, and in '74, Edith was diagnosed with breast cancer, but thankfully it was benign. Now here we are Christmas 1976, and sadly, this will not be a happy holiday either. A certain someone is invited to sit down with the family for Christmas and when it's discovered just who this person is and what he's done, tempers flare up and a heated political debate is launched. The day started off nice enough, Edith was preparing the lovely Christmas supper while Archie was eagerly awaiting the arrival of his old pal, Pinky Peterson, who would be joining them. He even bought Pinky a little holiday token, which he attempts to demonstrate to Edith: a battery operated Santa head that blinks and, for reasons only known to the inventor, sticks its tongue out repeatedly. My dirty mind tells me that this thing doubles as a sex toy. Anyway, you're supposed to pull the tie and Santy does "something funny." Long story short it squirts water all over Archie, and they thought this gag was so funny, they did it three times! First Edith, then Mike, and then Pinky, and all three times, Archie gets doused with water instead of the intended target, and each time he recites the same spiel word-for-word as if echoing the salesman who suckered him into buying the stupid thing. Well, gags aside, the Bunkers' first guest is a young man named David, a friend of Mike's who has come visiting from Canada. Mike is both elated and surprised to see his old school chum and, for Edith's viewing pleasure, they reenact a skit in which they play a German doctor and patient. Guess nobody told them that vaudeville is dead, and it wasn't just motion pictures that killed it. The way Mike and Gloria act around David as well as his perceived nervousness gives him a real 'wanted man' vibe, like are they harboring a fugitive? In a way, kinda, he's a draft dodger, but we'll get into that later. Archie agrees to let David join them for dinner, and they keep trying to make his hometown secret, like they don't want to come right out and say Canada, lest it might make Archie immediately think draft dodger. Speaking of keeping things on the QT, it turns out that Pinky lost his son in the Vietnam War so everyone is instructed to avoid the subject or steer the conversation away from young Steve, should Pinky bring him up. A draft dodger and a bereaved father who lost his son in the war, dinner would get very awkward very fast if the cat was let out of the bag.
Before anyone had a chance to start eating dinner, Archie comes straight out and asks David why he was living in Canada, and instead of just lying and saying a logging job, he replies, "freedom." Instead of just letting it go, Archie just keeps pushing the issue, so the young man comes clean and admits to being a draft dodger. Subterfuge is clearly not a word in this man's vocabulary. When Archie gets the truth, he's furious, and even angrier when David admits to writing the president on his stance about the war, and when Mike tries to curtail the situation by saying David had guts to do what he did and says the war was wrong, Archie blows like a volcano, screaming that David was wrong for not doing his patriotic duty and rants and raves like a madman, indirectly admitting that the methods used by the selective service are wrong. At least that's what I got out of it. Pinky voices his opinion on the subject, which Archie values a great deal, until he hears that while Pinky understands his feelings, he also understands David's, saying that his own son hated the war, but went anyway and was tragically killed. He says he was glad to sit down to dinner with David as he was sure Steve would too. That should've taken care of things, but Archie wasn't so sure. He was reluctant to resume dinner, but Edith managed to sway him. If anything, it was to keep the Meathead from eating the drumstick. But this dark cloud may have a silver lining as when he hears carolers at the door, Archie goes out and asks them to keep it down lest he calls the cops on them. Ah, now there's the Archie Bunker we all know and love. I think he'll be just fine.
So that was "The Draft Dodger", a very well-acted and well-written episode of All in the Family. It doesn't take a heavy-handed approach to the issue or hit the audience over the head, it presents all sides and they're heard equally. It's one of the series' best received episodes and it has earned that spot. In fact, they tried to reenact it back in 2019 when they did "Live in Front of a Studio Audience." Remember, when live TV temporarily became a thing, because networks ran out of creative ideas and looked to cash in on existing IPs? They reenacted episodes of The Jeffersons and Good Times, with new actors playing the roles. Woody Harrelson had the honor of playing Archie Bunker in the Draft Dodger reenactment, and let me tell you, he didn't even come close to matching Carroll O'Connor's intensity in that blow up scene. I know comparing the two actors isn't fair as Woody had big shoes to fill, but in the original, you can hear the fury and rage in Archie's voice, like this really affects him personally. Woody is a decent actor, but this was a bit out of his league. No matter, it was just the networks trying for a quick buck because no one watches regular TV anymore. Why? Because it sucks, is unoriginal, and they're too damned scared to take any chances. Anyway, back to All in the Family. As for the things I like: the acting and the performances, the things I didn't like was the water squirting Santa gag, I thought that got old real quick, and finally, though she doesn't do much here, this is another episode to feature the character of Teresa. When the Meathead moved out, the show's writers felt Archie should have a new foil under his roof to butt heads with. And who did they get? The sassy receptionist from when Archie went to the hospital for a transfusion. Let me state right now that as far as Teresa goes, I hate her. I hated that character from the moment she first appeared on screen. She's not funny, she's not quirky, she's annoying, she's poorly written and, while I mean no personal offense to Liz Torres, she's poorly acted. Thank heavens she disappeared in Season 7 without a trace. Maybe she was finally deported. So, in closing, I definitely recommend "The Draft Dodger." It's a fantastic episode to watch around Christmas, or any time of the year. Maybe you hate war, maybe you love it, maybe you know someone who was affected by it, either way, you'll love this story. One more thing: it was around the time of its airing that President Jimmy Carter pardoned all the draft dodgers. Guess David won't have to live in Canada anymore, and I'm sure Archie screamed even louder when he heard that. Anyways, Merry Christmas, all!
Before anyone had a chance to start eating dinner, Archie comes straight out and asks David why he was living in Canada, and instead of just lying and saying a logging job, he replies, "freedom." Instead of just letting it go, Archie just keeps pushing the issue, so the young man comes clean and admits to being a draft dodger. Subterfuge is clearly not a word in this man's vocabulary. When Archie gets the truth, he's furious, and even angrier when David admits to writing the president on his stance about the war, and when Mike tries to curtail the situation by saying David had guts to do what he did and says the war was wrong, Archie blows like a volcano, screaming that David was wrong for not doing his patriotic duty and rants and raves like a madman, indirectly admitting that the methods used by the selective service are wrong. At least that's what I got out of it. Pinky voices his opinion on the subject, which Archie values a great deal, until he hears that while Pinky understands his feelings, he also understands David's, saying that his own son hated the war, but went anyway and was tragically killed. He says he was glad to sit down to dinner with David as he was sure Steve would too. That should've taken care of things, but Archie wasn't so sure. He was reluctant to resume dinner, but Edith managed to sway him. If anything, it was to keep the Meathead from eating the drumstick. But this dark cloud may have a silver lining as when he hears carolers at the door, Archie goes out and asks them to keep it down lest he calls the cops on them. Ah, now there's the Archie Bunker we all know and love. I think he'll be just fine.
So that was "The Draft Dodger", a very well-acted and well-written episode of All in the Family. It doesn't take a heavy-handed approach to the issue or hit the audience over the head, it presents all sides and they're heard equally. It's one of the series' best received episodes and it has earned that spot. In fact, they tried to reenact it back in 2019 when they did "Live in Front of a Studio Audience." Remember, when live TV temporarily became a thing, because networks ran out of creative ideas and looked to cash in on existing IPs? They reenacted episodes of The Jeffersons and Good Times, with new actors playing the roles. Woody Harrelson had the honor of playing Archie Bunker in the Draft Dodger reenactment, and let me tell you, he didn't even come close to matching Carroll O'Connor's intensity in that blow up scene. I know comparing the two actors isn't fair as Woody had big shoes to fill, but in the original, you can hear the fury and rage in Archie's voice, like this really affects him personally. Woody is a decent actor, but this was a bit out of his league. No matter, it was just the networks trying for a quick buck because no one watches regular TV anymore. Why? Because it sucks, is unoriginal, and they're too damned scared to take any chances. Anyway, back to All in the Family. As for the things I like: the acting and the performances, the things I didn't like was the water squirting Santa gag, I thought that got old real quick, and finally, though she doesn't do much here, this is another episode to feature the character of Teresa. When the Meathead moved out, the show's writers felt Archie should have a new foil under his roof to butt heads with. And who did they get? The sassy receptionist from when Archie went to the hospital for a transfusion. Let me state right now that as far as Teresa goes, I hate her. I hated that character from the moment she first appeared on screen. She's not funny, she's not quirky, she's annoying, she's poorly written and, while I mean no personal offense to Liz Torres, she's poorly acted. Thank heavens she disappeared in Season 7 without a trace. Maybe she was finally deported. So, in closing, I definitely recommend "The Draft Dodger." It's a fantastic episode to watch around Christmas, or any time of the year. Maybe you hate war, maybe you love it, maybe you know someone who was affected by it, either way, you'll love this story. One more thing: it was around the time of its airing that President Jimmy Carter pardoned all the draft dodgers. Guess David won't have to live in Canada anymore, and I'm sure Archie screamed even louder when he heard that. Anyways, Merry Christmas, all!